New York state officials warned prison guards who are still participating in an ongoing wildcat strike Sunday to get back on the job — or prepare to be out of one — in an apparent last-ditch effort to end the illegal work stoppage.
The state Department of Corrections and Community Supervision revealed termination notices have started going out to correction officers who have been on strike for more than 11 straight work days — and introduced a new policy to slow the flow of contraband.
The aggressive approach comes after Gov. Kathy Hochul’s office and the guards’ union reached a deal with the help of a mediator last week in hopes of ending the work stoppage that has reached more than 30 prisons in the state after guards walked off the job on Feb. 17 over unsafe working conditions.
The deal suspended elements of the HALT Act, a controversial reform law meant to limit solitary confinement that’s been fiercely criticized by correction officers who say it makes conditions in the jails more dangerous…